Jatiluwih and the Subak Rice Terraces

UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 2012 As The Cultural Landscape Of Bali Province; Terraced Rice Fields Worked Under Subak, A Cooperative Water Temple Irrigation System Roughly A Thousand Years Old · Tabanan, Bali

What UNESCO listed in 2012 was not a view. It was SUBAK - a system of cooperative irrigation societies, roughly a thousand years old, in which Balinese farmers share water through a network of channels governed not by an authority but by WATER TEMPLES and by collective decision, with the ritual calendar setting the planting schedule. It is a democratic institution that happens to produce one of the most beautiful agricultural landscapes on earth. JATILUWIH is where you see it at its most complete: several hundred hectares of terraces stepping down a valley below Mount Batukaru, worked exactly as described, with walking paths through them. IT IS ALSO THE QUIET ONE. Tegallalang, near Ubud, is the terrace everyone photographs, and it is a narrow crowded strip with swings and donation demands. Jatiluwih is an hour further, costs a couple of dollars, and is the real thing - hundreds of hectares you walk into rather than a roadside viewpoint you queue at.

Jatiluwih, Penebel, Tabanan Regency, Bali, Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia

OPEN DAILY WITH AN ENTRANCE FEE collected at a gate on the road - foreigner and domestic rates differ in the usual way, and there is a small additional charge for vehicles. THE WALKING TRAILS THROUGH THE TERRACES ARE OPEN DURING DAYLIGHT and are colour-coded by length, from a short loop to a walk of several hours. REMEMBER THAT THIS IS WORKING FARMLAND: the paths run along irrigation bunds between fields that people cultivate, and the appearance of the terraces changes completely through the growing cycle - brown mud after planting, brilliant green in growth, gold before harvest. THERE IS NO SINGLE BEST MONTH because different plots are at different stages. Warungs along the ridge road serve food with the view. Ceremonies at the water temples take precedence over visitors.

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